Olympics to have major tradition broken in landmark announcement
Paris 2024 will break Olympic tradition this year by giving out prize money to gold medallists.
World Athletics have announced that they will award prize money at this year's Olympic Games, making them the first international federation to do so.
The global sporting body has revealed that the total prize pot will amount to $2.4million (£1.9m) and will be made available for this year's Olympics in Paris.
Gold medallists will be awarded $50,000 (£39,400) and plans are also in place to see prize money extended to silver and bronze medallists for the next Olympics, which is held in Los Angeles in 2028.
World Athletics president Lord Sebastian Coe shared details on the groundbreaking decision, calling it a 'pivotal moment'.
He said: "The introduction of prize money for Olympic gold medallists is a pivotal moment for World Athletics and the sport of athletics as a whole, underscoring our commitment to empowering the athletes and recognising the critical role they play in the success of any Olympic Games.
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“This is the continuation of a journey we started back in 2015, which sees all the money World Athletics receives from the International Olympic Committee for the Olympic Games go directly back into our sport.
“We started with the Olympic dividend payments to our Member Federations, which saw us distribute an extra US $5m a year on top of existing grants aimed at athletics growth projects, and we are now in a position to also fund gold medal performances for athletes in Paris, with a commitment to reward all three medallists at the LA28 Olympic Games.
“While it is impossible to put a marketable value on winning an Olympic medal, or on the commitment and focus it takes to even represent your country at an Olympic Games, I think it is important we start somewhere and make sure some of the revenues generated by our athletes at the Olympic Games are directly returned to those who make the Games the global spectacle that it is.”
The Olympics started out as an amateur sports event, and as a result, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) did not award prize money.
Instead, funds were allocated through international federations and national Olympics committees.
While some national Olympic committees hand out financial rewards to their medallists, the British Olympic Association does not.
